Finding a deeper register: Sanjoy Narayan writes on rising British star Nadine Shah

The Pakistani-origin musician’s songs reflect her complex identity, and her ability to transform personal trauma into compelling art.

Six years ago, the British singer-songwriter Nadine Shah gave an interview to Wisden, a publication nicknamed the Bible of Cricket. A rather unusual platform, one would think, for a fiercely uncompromising indie rocker to choose for a media interaction.

Yet, as Shah said to the publication, “If you’re Pakistani, cricket is like mother’s milk.”

She was born to a Pakistani father and an English mother with some Norwegian ancestry, and derived her passion for the game from her subcontinental genes.